Based on one game?

Apparently one bloop hit has determined that Matt is not closer material.

Apparently one bloop hit has determined that Matt is not closer material.

 

Duh.

Apparently one bloop hit has determined that Matt is not closer material.

 

This. Is. Soxtalk.

Im not basing anything on yesterday, but i dont believe Thornton is a closer. I think he is much better as a setup guy

Im not basing anything on yesterday, but i dont believe Thornton is a closer. I think he is much better as a setup guy

Any specific reason?

Any specific reason?

 

 

lack of a plus secondary pitch. lets face it, if thornton doesnt have his pinpoint location, he gets rocked. fortunately he has had it for the majority of the time, but we have seen what happens when he doesnt. I still dont think that homer Thome hit last season in Minnesota has landed yet. When Thornton has to throw that rolling breaking ball, he is in trouble.

 

 

Sale on the other hand has a plus fastball and plus slider, and his changeup is pretty good when he can spot it. I also think Sale has that closer mentality "come at you as hard as I can".

 

JMO

Have we ever forgotten? I know I haven't:

 

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20...sp&c_id=mlb

 

But really it's more of a "gut" thing. Just like when I said Beckham should be in the 2 hole last year immediately

after the all star break and NO ONE agreed. He ended up hitting .300 + from that point forward.

 

Just like when I said that we should put TCQ into the 3 hole again after the first game of this year and NO ONE agreed,

it's just a gut feeling of mine and they typically are right. (I started a topic on it)

 

I am going to say it again:

 

Matt Thornton is NOT a closer. Period. He's an awesome guy to bring in when it's not a save situation. He has never

looked comfortable to me in the closers role and I don't exactly like losing our best setup guy either. To me it hurts

us in both ways.

 

Again, I hope I am wrong, and there certainly is that possibility I am since I am not God or some baseball guru, just

letting the board know what my instincts are telling me...

 

I'd rather have MT out there in the 8th and turn it over to any of our other legit options...

lack of a plus secondary pitch. lets face it, if thornton doesnt have his pinpoint location, he gets rocked. fortunately he has had it for the majority of the time, but we have seen what happens when he doesnt. I still dont think that homer Thome hit last season in Minnesota has landed yet. When Thornton has to throw that rolling breaking ball, he is in trouble.

 

 

Sale on the other hand has a plus fastball and plus slider, and his changeup is pretty good when he can spot it. I also think Sale has that closer mentality "come at you as hard as I can".

 

JMO

This seems to be everyones reasoning but I don't see how that would change his effectiveness from the 7th/8th inning to the 9th inning. He's still the same guy that nobody has been able to hit, no matter what inning he's pitching in, I just don't really see how that makes a difference.

 

And I was someone who wanted Chris to be the closer because I'd prefer to not mess with a pretty much perfect thing but unless Matt can't mentally handle the job(which I've seen no indication of) then I really don't see how the switch will effect him at all.

The only reason I want to see someone other than Matt close is because the Sox aren't going to be able to use him in innings 5-8 as needed now. That versility was huge. Games aren't always decided in the 9th.

The only reason I want to see someone other than Matt close is because the Sox aren't going to be able to use him in innings 5-8 as needed now. That versility was huge. Games aren't always decided in the 9th.

Absolutely.

The only reason I want to see someone other than Matt close is because the Sox aren't going to be able to use him in innings 5-8 as needed now. That versility was huge. Games aren't always decided in the 9th.

Precisely.

Precisely.

 

I think the big difference here is that I do think Matt will be a 40 save a year type closer if he is given the job.

Have we ever forgotten? I know I haven't:

 

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20...sp&c_id=mlb

 

So, what you're saying is, that Matt Thornton cannot be trusted for three inning saves?

 

I don't want him closing either, but that's only because I don't really like the idea of a closer in general. He will be fine.

The Sox don't face the Royals now for the next 81 games. See ya July 4th, pesky bastards.

That just seems crazy...

They'll be on their usual pace to lose 95 games by then. You can't outrun the talent you have on the team. You just cant'...especially in a 162 game season.

I'm inclined to agree with you...

anyone know what their plan is with their top prospects? Are they planning on bringing them up when the certain arb deadline hits, usually in June sometime if memory serves me right? By July 4th they could have a lot of talent on the team, maybe not ready to win consistently on the MLB level, but certainly a lot of talent. At this point, the Royals could start all their reserves for a series and they'll give the Sox a run for the money, they just seem to be "that team" against them.

Word is that we won't see any of them (barring injury) before June. Mike Aviles has looked terrible this year at 3rd, if he doesn't get it together he'll be splitting time with Getz and Mike Moustakas will get a shot at 3rd. Eric Hosmer is likely to be up around the same time, depends on how Kila and Butler do between now and then. If they are both hitting well, rumor is he could be moved to the outfield (right), so that may keep him down a bit longer.

 

As far as our pitching, Mike Montgomery and Danny Duffy are believed to be ready to go now. I believe it's most likely an issue of manipulating service time with them (and others), and there's just really no need to rush them. I imagine they'll be kept down until at least June (again, barring injury).

 

Things probably won't get real interesting with call-ups until some trades are made near the deadline, and with roster expansion Sept. 1st. Ideal situation would be to have Aviles get his s*** together, move him back to 2nd, have Getz come off the bench, start Moustakas at 3rd. Move Melky and Frenchy (assuming they have value) and bring up David Lough/Lorenzo Cain and Eric Hosmer to take over in the outfield. Pitching moves depends on who has a s***ty season first/injury/trade(s)...

Edited April 7, 201115 yr by High Mileage